NCTE Intellectual Freedom Center

NCTE Principles for Intellectual Freedom in Education

All students have the right to materials and educational experiences that promote open inquiry, critical thinking, diversity in thought and expression, and respect for others. Denial or restriction of this right is an infringement of intellectual freedom. Toward this end, NCTE encourages school communities to generate, implement, and follow policies and procedures for defending intellectual freedom at the classroom, institution, and system/campus levels to limit and/or address attacks on free expression. Read more . . .

Facing A Challenge?

NCTE offers advice, helpful documents, and other support to teachers faced with challenges to texts (e.g. literary works, films and videos, drama productions) or teaching methods used in their classrooms and schools.

Use the online "Report A Censorship Incident Form" to report an incident, or call Millie Davis, NCTE Senior Developer, Affiliated Groups and Public Outreach, directly at 217-278-3634217-278-3634.

Five Most Helpful Resources

The materials below have been identified by teachers as most useful in preventing and combating censorship.

Students' Right to ReadGives model procedures for responding to challenges, including "Citizen's Request for Reconsideration of a Work."

Rationales for Teaching Challenged BooksRich resource section included table of contents of NCTE's Rationales for Commonly Challenged Books CD-ROM, an alphabetical list of other rationales on file, the SLATE Starter Sheet on "How to Write a Rationale," and sample rationales for Bridge to Terabithia and The Color Purple.

NCTE's Support for the Students' Right to Read

NCTE actively began fighting censorship in the 1950's. McCarthyism spurred NCTE to take a more active stance against censorship and, in 1953, NCTE's Committee on Censorship of Teaching Materials published Censorship and Controversy, condemning McCarthy's tactics and championing freedom of thought. In 1962 NCTE published its seminal intellectual freedom guideline The Students' Right to Read, that led to today's active Anti-Censorship program which works with 60-100 educators and school districts a year on challenges to texts used in classrooms. Over these years the Council has voiced its opposition to censorship and promoted intellectual freedom as portrayed in this video clip from the NCTE Centennial Film.